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Murrindal River Truss Bridge
Basin Road,, BUCHAN VIC 3885 - Property No B6847
Murrindal River Truss Bridge
Basin Road,, BUCHAN VIC 3885 - Property No B6847
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National Trust
B6847 Murrindal Bridge
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Statement of Significance
Built in 1929, the Murrindal Bridge is scientifically, historically, and aesthetically significant at State level. This six-span structure consists of five standard timber-beam spans, and one eighty-feet (24.5 metres) timber-truss span of a conventional but now rare Country Roads Board type, built to the Howe pattern. The soaring piers are composed of concrete pier bases rising above flood level, topped by graceful timber trestles. Aproach-span outer ends are supported by buried piers rather than conventional timber abutments, and the approach-span decking at the Buchan end is gently curved. The unusually-shaped timber deck is 69.5 metres long and 5.5 metres wide, of late-1920s C.R.B. transverse-timber deck type (except that transverse deck planks have latterly been spaced apart for longer life), and is topped by running planks for motor vehicles.
This is a "timber-trestle bridge" in the truest sense of the term, with its timber piles not being driven but being supported by a concrete base. Such structures are very rate in Victoria. The transverse-timbered deck with running planks, combining curved approach spans at one end with a straight main deck, is highly unusual. It is one of only five surviving Victorian bridges with timber trusses, and the best preserved of them. It is also the last timber-truss road bridge known to have been built in Victoria. An unusual combination of structural features, and an unusual structural integrity, clearly sets the Murrindal Bridge apart from any other bridge in Victoria.
When it was built in 1928-29 this bridge was an important element in a CRB project designed to open up the then isolated surrounding area for closer agricultural settlement. The Basin Developmental Road, running off the Buchan-Orbost Road east of Buchan, was constructed under the historic Developmental Roads scheme formulated by the Country Roads Board during World War 1, institutionalised by Acts of Parliament at war's end, and making a major contribution to the development of rural Victoria between 1919 and 1939. Historically, that Developmental Roads scheme reflects the political potency of the Country Party between the world wars, and the great economic importance of rural industry and rural development in that bye-gone era.
Aesthetically, the Murrindal Bridge today makes a significant contribution to the scenic attractions of the popular Buchan tourist-resort area. Situated on a winding rural road over a steep-banked forested river valley, its various rare features combine to create an unusual aesthetic experience, and to enhance an attractive high country landscape. When viewed from the roadside, or from side-tracks in the bush beside and below the bridge, the soaring timber trestles topped by a graceful Howe Truss span provide viewing unlike anything to be found elsewhere in the State. It is a splendid picnic spot.
Classified: 06/11/1998
This is a "timber-trestle bridge" in the truest sense of the term, with its timber piles not being driven but being supported by a concrete base. Such structures are very rate in Victoria. The transverse-timbered deck with running planks, combining curved approach spans at one end with a straight main deck, is highly unusual. It is one of only five surviving Victorian bridges with timber trusses, and the best preserved of them. It is also the last timber-truss road bridge known to have been built in Victoria. An unusual combination of structural features, and an unusual structural integrity, clearly sets the Murrindal Bridge apart from any other bridge in Victoria.
When it was built in 1928-29 this bridge was an important element in a CRB project designed to open up the then isolated surrounding area for closer agricultural settlement. The Basin Developmental Road, running off the Buchan-Orbost Road east of Buchan, was constructed under the historic Developmental Roads scheme formulated by the Country Roads Board during World War 1, institutionalised by Acts of Parliament at war's end, and making a major contribution to the development of rural Victoria between 1919 and 1939. Historically, that Developmental Roads scheme reflects the political potency of the Country Party between the world wars, and the great economic importance of rural industry and rural development in that bye-gone era.
Aesthetically, the Murrindal Bridge today makes a significant contribution to the scenic attractions of the popular Buchan tourist-resort area. Situated on a winding rural road over a steep-banked forested river valley, its various rare features combine to create an unusual aesthetic experience, and to enhance an attractive high country landscape. When viewed from the roadside, or from side-tracks in the bush beside and below the bridge, the soaring timber trestles topped by a graceful Howe Truss span provide viewing unlike anything to be found elsewhere in the State. It is a splendid picnic spot.
Classified: 06/11/1998
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MURRINDAL RIVER TRUSS BRIDGE
Victorian Heritage Register H2311 -
MURRINDAL SILVER-LEAD MINE
Victorian Heritage Inventory -
Murrindal River Truss Bridge
National Trust H2311
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